Learn all you need to know about the EDH Commander format of Magic the Gathering

Supportive EDH Lands and Land Staples

Supportive EDH / Commander Lands and Land Staples

Lands are the key to making your EDH deck successful. In EDH to make a successful deck, lands should not be used just as a mana source. Lands should be used to support your deck with damage prevention and strategy support for your deck. For instance in my Rhys the Redeemed deck I use Gavony Township and Oran-Rief, the Vastwood to give my tokens +1/+1 counters. I also use Wirewood Lodge to untap my Commander so I can double my tokens an additional time if I wanted to. I also use Kor Haven in both my Kaalia of the Vast deck and Rhys the Redeemed deck to help protect myself from an opposing General attacking me. The point being is that to truly make a good EDH deck you should use a variety of lands to assist your deck and your strategy.

Because many supportive lands add colorless mana you need several types of dual lands to make sure the mana base is efficient.

Champions of Kamigawa Legendary Lands

These lands are great because there are no drawbacks like coming into play tapped. These lands provide you with an extra ability on the battlefield as well as providing you with colored mana. The only thing that could make these lands better is if they had basic land types. These lands are also very affordable. I would think about putting one of these lands in your deck for each color of your commander, you never know when these lands abilities could give you some extra leverage on the battlefield.

Minamo, School at Water’s Edge

Volrath’s Stronghold

Volrath’s Stronghold

Volrath’s Stronghold is a great addition to any black deck. Volrath’s Stronghold has gone up in price over the years but it is still affordable and is an asset for any black EDH deck. The only thing that would make Volrath’s Stronghold better is if the creature went directly into your hand from your graveyard. Fortunately, there are plenty of black draw cards like Necropotence you can use to help you put your creature in your hand with out giving up your draw.

Academy Ruins is a similar to Volrath’s Stronghold but it is used for artifacts. You can use Academy Ruins with Mindslaver and infinitely take your opponents turns as long as you have the mana…But yes, if you used that combo you would just be playing with yourself.

Diamond Valley is very pricey, but for a reason as this land can be very useful. When playing EDH it is often necessary to have a sac outlet like Diamond Valley to clear the board with False Prophet or Keep your opponents permanents tapped with Yosei, the Morning Star. Having a sac outlet available gives you better control over your creatures abilities. You also gain life equal to your creatures toughness when they are sacrificed which is another plus. The only drawback with this land is that it does not produce mana.

Bojuka Bog is a MUST HAVE land in any deck playing . This land is powerful because it can stop your opponents from reanimating their creatures. Bojuka Bog is also useful to remove your opponents graveyards if you are playing with Living Death or Twilight’s Call.

Homeward Path

Homeward Path

Homeward Path is another EDH staple that should be in every deck. This land is important because it makes it easier to play against cards like Bribery and Animate Dead with your opponents stealing creatures from your graveyard. If I don’t need the extra mana my strategy is to keep Homeward Path in my hand to surprise my opponents when they attempt to steal my big creatures.

Petrified Field is a good land to protect some of your more important lands that your opponents are out to destroy such as Gaea’s Cradle and Homeward Path. This land can also be good to rid of your opponents lands by bringing back a sacrificed Strip Mine

Reliquary Tower has become a staple land for EDH. The reason this land is an EDH staple is because every good EDH deck should have a lot of draw ability using cards like skull clamp to draw through your deck quickly. When you are playing with 100 cards you need to have a lot of draw to go through your deck quickly and get the cards you need. As long as Reliquary Tower is out on the field you will not have to worry about discarding cards because of your maximum hand size.

Mishra’s Workshop

Mishra’s Workshop

Mishra’s Workshop is a great drop for any EDH deck with several artifacts. A turn one, three mana drop is unmatchable with one land. Of course you need Mishra’s Workshop in your Kozilek, Butcher of Truthcolorless EDH deck right? Just make sure you budget an over $300 to buy this land.

When you are playing with a 100 card deck it is important to draw through it quickly. Do you hate it when you have one more turn left to make or break the game and you depend on the miricle draw and all you get is a lousy land? Good thing about cycling lands is they are useful later in the game too even when you have so much land you do not know what to do with.

Mishra’s Factory

Dark Depths is a great combo with Vampire Hexmage. Use Vampires Hexmage’s ability to remove all the counters from Dark Depths and put a 20/20 Indestructible flying token into play. You can use Expedition Map or a Demonic Tutor to bring this combo out quickly.

Damage Preventing Lands

Maze of Ith could be used in two ways, it could be used to protect your attacking General or it could be used to stop you opponents General by untapping them and taking their General out of combat. The only draw back of Maze of Ith is that it does not add any Mana to your mana pool.

Stop combat damage by exiling your opponents creatures until after the end of the combat phase. It is a great prevention land because it still can add mana to your mana pool. The downside of this land is its not good to play on creatures like Massacre Wurm with entry effects that could harm you.

Kor Haven is a great prevention land as long as you are playing in your deck.

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Land Destruction

So these land destruction lands are helpful to take out your opponents most useful lands. If you want to your opponents creatures you can use Strip Mine to destroy their Homeward Path. Land destruction can be useful for multiple purposes and it is usually a good idea to have at least 1 land destruction land in your EDH deck.

Tectonic Edge is a good helper to destroy your opponents nonbasic lands. It is not as good as Wasteland because your opponent needs to control four or more lands but its also a fraction of the price if you want to keep your budget down.

This land is good to help you draw cards but unfortunately it can help you opponents out too. I think the ability works well when you have cards like Sadistic Hypnotist to keep those cards out of your opponents hands.

Nephalia Drownyard

With Tolaria West’s transmute ability this land can double as a land tutor to help ensure that you get that much needed land you may need. For instance this tutor would be great if you need a Homeward Path when your opponent has control of your creature.

Winding Canyons will help you keep your mana open during your opponents turn as you can wait until you opponents turn is over to play your creature this is good in case you need to leave some extra mana open for a counter spell or destroy permanent spell.

Gaea’s Cradle is the best mana producing land for any deck that uses green mana and a lot of creatures.

Serra’s Sanctum

Serra’s Sanctum

Serra’s Sanctum is a great land to help accelerate your mana when you are using several enchantments in your deck.

Urborg, Tomb of Yogmawth

Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth

Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth has a lot of great quality’s for any black deck. The first quality being that it is great for black mana acceleration. There are several black creatures and enchantments that add additional for each swamp you tap for mana, Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth makes it so you can use this black mana acceleration even in multicolored black decks. Also another benefit of Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth is it makes ALL lands swamps, including your opponents, so you can get the added benefit of your creatures with Swampwalk!

Great way to add lots of additional mana in Monoblack decks. Cabal Coffers can also be used multicolored black decks when you have Urborg%2C+Tomb+of+Yawgmoth&partner=MTGJNK” rel=”http://mtgjunkie.com/wp-content/plugins/mtg-card-links/getter.php?n=Urborg%2C+Tomb+of+Yawgmoth”>Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth out as well.

If you are playing a quick deck like a Kaalia of the Vast deck Hall of the Bandit Lord is just what you need to get your creatures out and attacking as soon as possible. Sometimes you need that extra edge to get a turn ahead of your opponets by attacking a turn sooner. Hall of the Bandit Lord is a good add in for any deck that plays quickly.

Ever try to play that one card that is gonna win you the game just to have it countered? Boseiju, Who Shelters All is a great land to add in if your play group plays a lot of counters. Even if you do not play a lot of instant or sorcery cards in your deck you never know when this card will come in handy.

Cavern of Souls

Cavern of Souls

Cavern of Souls is another EDH staple land. This land can make sure your commander will be played every time as your commander wont be able to be countered and will add any colored mana for your commander you need and it does not even come into play tapped.

Hideaway Lands

These Hideaway Lands are great for quick big drops by only having to tap two lands. Obviously some of these lands are easier to accomplish then the others but still could be a good add on to your EDH deck. I use a Spinerock Knoll in my Kaalia of the Vast deck to send out an extra big creature as soon as my first attack.

Deck Building Guide

EDH Commander Deck Building Guide

1. If you do not know the rules for EDH already then make sure you learn them before creating your deck. Click here for EDH Rules.

2. When first building your EDH Deck determining your EDH General helps determine your strategy and what colors you use. Check out the EDH Generals List for ideas.

3. After select your General and know what colors you are using in your EDH Deck you will find that some Magic Cards will work well in most EDH decks with the same colors. Check out the list of EDH Staples.

4. If you are having trouble determining what deck strategy to use for your EDH Deck try looking at other deck with the same EDH General this will also give you an idea of what cards you can use. I suggest checking out http://tappedout.net/ to check out different decks.

5. Also when building an EDH deck many strategies revolve around specific abilities or creature types. The best way to find all the alternatives for these types and abilities is to do some research at http://gatherer.wizards.com/ and use the search function to your advantage.

6. When you are using a Multicolored deck you need to make sure you have a good variation of lands that produce different color mana. Check out some multi colored producing lands.(If you have a monocolored Commander you can skip checking out the multicolored producing lands of course)

7. After you find multicolored producing lands to make sure your mana base is sufficient check out lands that will support your deck strategy.

8.Test your new EDH deck out with your friends to best decide what your deck needs.